Recent events have forced me to put down all hobby but I have been able to keep an eye on social media and see the latest updates. The one which caught my eye was the new Ash Wastes box at £180 from GW direct. It didn’t catch my eye because of the contents; impressive looking as they are, necromunda is not my thing but the price caught my eye. £180.00 is a lot of money. I understand that it is a saving over the individual purchasing but £180 is a huge sum on what it a essentially a non-essential. I mean for me that is around two and half months of utilities or my entire energy and food budget for a month. I appreciate that times are hard but I do feel that at the moment GW’s price increase is moving the range beyond what I can really justify spending when I only really paint rather than play.
I also understand that costs are rising for GW so there is a dilemma for them. Reduce the profit margin and annoy stakeholders or hike the prices and cause issues for those buyers of ‘plastic crack’ who have to have the latest thing no matter what (there are plenty on social media spaces looking to sell things to cover the cost of new minis).
Ultimately, for me, 40k is a hobby and if I cannot afford it then I won’t buy it. Equally there is nothing coming down the new release pipe which is tempting me either so for the moment it is quite an easy situation. That being said I do wonder why GW does not issue a formal release schedule. Take the incoming heresy box set which is coming this year. It will be expensive so why not say to people that it will be released no earlier than x date. That gives people time to save, budget and plan ahead. This also opens the product up to those who don’t have £150+ lying around spare as if they know when they can see if there is a way to make it work. I do this all the time with collectible statues from anime and it means that I can buy ones I would never be able to afford.
I genuinely don’t see why GW do not do this and instead do a reveal and then say nothing until a few weeks before release. Yes it may drive FOMO a bit but given how GW likes to highlight how aware it is of social issues then surely it should consider looking at the socio-economic crisis as well and surely a simple release window is not going to hurt the FOMO that much?
Roll 3's to hit 